Jason Statham May Join 'Fast And Furious' Franchise

It's not like "Fast And Furious" needed become bigger and brawnier. It's not like it would be a detriment, though.

"Fast Five" seemingly took "The Fast And The Furious" higher as a franchise than ever thanks in part to the addition of Dwayne Johnson as a foil to the band of thieves played by Paul Walker, Vin Diesel and Tyrese Gibson. If Twitchfilm.com has their facts straight, we might soon find out if Jason Statham can actually one-up The Rock.

The studio might film the two sequels in the blockbuster franchise back-to-back in Europe sometime in 2012.

If the next "Fast And Furious" sequels do in fact cross the pond, the English Statham would be a logical fit, plus an authentic rough-and-tumble man of action that could keep pace with Diesel, Walker, Gibson and Johnson.

And this is certainly not a franchise opposed to more bang for the buck. In addition, "Fast Five" director Justin Lin bid the "Terminator 5" director's chair adieu because of an unspecified scheduling conflict. All the pieces lend the as-yet unconfirmed rumors some plausibility.

For all involved, "Fast Five" will be just about the toughest act anybody could follow. The $125-million budget film made $616.1 million gross at the box office, and is in the midst of a special one-week re-release in IMAX as one of the most successful releases in the format's history.